NHL Rumors II: Maple Leafs Shopping Dion Phaneuf

Nick Kypreos: Sources say in the Maple Leafs are shopping Dion Phaneuf to Western conference teams.

Nick Kypreos: There is lots of interest in Phaneuf at the right price. Some teams think he’s a $5 – $6 million player, so the Leafs may have to some of the remaining money.

Darren Millard: If the Maple Leafs retain money in a Phaneuf trade, they are admitting they made a mistake.

Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: It should not be a surprise that the Leafs are kicking tires on moving Phaneuf. The Leafs took calls on Phaneuf during the season. The Leafs think there is a market for him, so a trade is realistic. Phaneuf’s lack of leadership as been put into question.

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9 Comments

Bobandy

May 12, 2014 at 8:55 am

”I’ll tell you this, Phaneuf is considered a better defenseman in every single NHL market outside of Toronto” AMEN.

Sam

May 12, 2014 at 8:55 am

A lot of teams will be interested. Dallas and San Jose come to mind. Especially the latter- where he doesnt have to be the man- and moves into some level of an obscure market. He would be lights out as a number 2 with Vlasic- and not relied upon for leadership- just not the kind of player he is. Could a Pavelski for Dion trade work for both teams?
He is polarizing in Toronto- but make no mistake he is great d- just not an elite one.

Jeff

May 12, 2014 at 9:33 am

Why wouldnt EDM be at the front of the line?

Sam

May 12, 2014 at 9:35 am

I think they would be very interested

Chris

May 12, 2014 at 10:58 am

Yeah Phaneuf somehow went from being overrated in Calgary to being underrated in Toronto.

The problem with Phaneuf isn’t that he’s a bad defenceman; it’s that he’s miscast.

The Leafs made two mistakes with Phaneuf that ruined his chances of a long future

1. They made him Captain
2. They made him their #1 d man.

If Phaneuf was allowed to just play his game in a #3 role he’d be one of the best #3 guys in the NHL. He’d play against other teams second lines instead of top lines (and he wasn’t exactly useless against other team’s top lines) and he’d play 20 minutes a night instead of 28.

The Leafs, and Leaf fans, will probably find that the d corps won’t improve without Phaneuf in the lineup but if a long term culture change is the goal then he has to be moved.

Chris

May 12, 2014 at 11:00 am

Oh and he’d be Edmonton’s #1 defenceman by a long shot. He’d be in any team’s top 4 but a 2nd pairing guy on a good team.

The only issue will be if teams think he’s worth the 7 mil. In 3 or 4 years if the Cap is at 85- 90 million dollars then 7 mil might not be too bad.